To conduct the study, the researchers measured
the incomes of over 12,000 respondents taken from the 2010 US
census. Two to five months later, those respondents were asked to
reconstruct a past day, and then rate how happy or sad they were
during that day.

The results showed that people with higher incomes reported
feeling less sad, but no more or less happy.

"The present findings provide the first evidence that the
emotional advantage of higher income may lie in buffering people
against sadness rather than boosting happiness," the
authors conclude.

So how does money act as a "buffer" against sadness?

According to the researchers, the answer has a lot to do with how
wealth can make it easier to deal with negative life events.

They write:

To the extent that having more money provides more options for
dealing with adversity, wealthier people may feel a greater sense
of control than poorer people when difficult situations arise.
Coming home to discover a leak in the roof, for example, may be
an annoying, but easily resolved, stressor for a well-off
individual; in contrast, someone who could not afford to have the
problem fixed right away might be plagued by this problem for
months.

The bottom line: A bigger paycheck may not put a smile on your
face, but it certainly wipes off that frown.